Get ready because we are packing our booth for Designer Con with so much awesome, your head will spin for at least a few hours. We are holding down fort at booth #700 and when the doors open on Nov. 8 & 9 come on down to see us for a line raffle ticket.

Now it is time to cut to the info on our first round of exclusives and releases.Kathie Olivas Bitter Mantis Calliope Edition of 60 $95

You have seen his amazing work at Stranger Factory openings and his jewelry on many of our patrons, but now we get to bring him with us to California with us! If you are unfamiliar with Stephan, here’s a summary of his amazing biology inspired art –

Some of my artwork takes a surrealistic view of biological processes and how they interact with our fabricated human environments. Evolution is an ongoing process and I try to show this in my art work. I tell a story of organisms that have evolved in cohesion with man’s machines or discarded relics. For example, coral reefs may use sunken air planes as a foundation to start a new colony. How far can this interaction go? Can organisms entirely integrate man-made objects into their complex systems? I merge biology with industry and shapes that most people are familiar with to try and convey this concept.

My latest artwork explores the inner workings of the human psyche, the forces that are imposed on an individual and the things that affect the behavioral characteristics of that individual. I do this by displaying various figurative and expressionistic forms, as well as geometric elements, that produce a surreal composition of the human figure or mind. Often these themes are combined in intricate sculptures that feature biological entities and structures juxtaposed with harsh geometric shapes. I try to establish a soft merger of the two in order to propose a more harmonious relationship between the biological and the industrial to create a feeling of cohesion, a singing “machine.” I represent thought process as a theoretical mechanism, using gears, levers, pulleys and other industrial elements to represent the dynamics of changing thought. However, even though thought is consistently entropic, the machinery used to create thought rarely changes for an individual. This work also deals with the concept of inner thought and how, as individuals, we “mask” our thoughts by taking on different persona’s or characters. Even though we think we are in charge of our characters, there is still an underlying unconsciousness that manipulates who we are.

In addition, we recently got to see an amazing video of Stephan’s process and work. Check it out!

Gracing us at the Mutant Vinyl Hardcore curated “Nightmare Fuel” this November is the amazingly talented Blood Guts Toys.
Izumo Irezumi is more widely known for his work at Instinct Tattoo, but using zombies and classic monsters as his guides, has created astounding new monsterish conceptions. These pieces in vinyl and resin have become highly sought after with one of a kinds and ultra low editions. The paint is superb and you can’t escape these faces, even in your dreams! definitely fuel for nightmares.
Blood Guts Toys joins the Nightmare Fuel starting Nov. 14th at Stranger Factory.

We are very proud to announce that our friend Ash will be doing field reports for us from our second home Japan. For his introductory post, Ash attended Super Festival 66 and gave us an amazing thorough account.

· Open to US based artists and international artists (if visiting DCon).

· Please try to not bring original artwork to the open submission. The only exception will be original artwork that is small or mid-size and contained in an actual portfolio case that you will take back with you. Small printed portfolios are preferred, and we will have a small tablet where we can look up your website if you would prefer to not bring any physical materials. Please do not bring your sketchbooks, but only artwork that represents what you would show in an actual gallery environment.

· If you hold regular ongoing art sales or sell originals through your own online shop(Etsy, BigCartel, Shopify…etc) – please do not apply. Some situations can be discussed, but focus will be given to fine artists that do not compete with themselves.

· If possible, please bring a printed resume or exhibition history – if not, be prepared to fill out a contact sheet for the gallery. If you have printed material or a small printed portfolio or art book, we would be glad to bring it back to the gallery for a more in depth review.

· Artists must be familiar with the type and style of artwork we show at Stranger Factory and you work must connect or fall relatively well under Narrative/Character based art and/or ‘Pop Surrealism.”

· You should be working with archival medias such as oils, acrylics, etc. If you are a traditional sculptor, toy fabricator, or work with resin based figures, please be aware that we require that you work with stable materials that are archival and can withstand shipping and are properly engineered.

· For taxidermy based artists: Please do not submit if you work with actual skulls or skeletons. Reproductions are acceptable.

· Be prepared to discuss your art pricing: Your specific formula for pricing as well as your pricing history. This also means you understand the traditional 50%/50% commission we take. Stranger Factory is also renowned for having a sliding scale system (vs. other galleries) where the more you sell with us in a given year, the more commission you can make – all the way up to 30%/70% your favor

Josh Herbolsheimer & Mutant Vinyl Hardcore November brings a stunning new solo exhibit, as well as a group kaiju exhibit! November 2014 brings us two new exhibits….a solo exhibit of new work by Josh Herbolsheimer, and a group kaiju exhibit curated by Mutant Vinyl Hardcore. Josh Herbolsheimer’s new solo exhibition, “Earthsquisite Corpse” brings the artist back to Stranger Factory for his first solo exhibition with us. His paintings have a unique, organic style that complement his toy design while giving each their own unique style and feel. Heavily influenced by his observations of nature and the elements, Herbolsheimer’s paintings deal delicately present us to the brutal indifference of natural forces. Mutant Vinyl Hardcore has curated “Nightmare Fuel”, a group exhibition of incredibly detailed hand-painted kaiju figures featuring Blobpus, Yatsuashi Shirahama, Blood Guts Toys, and Kagemaru of Dark Fantasy Undead Toys. These incredible custom-painted Japanese vinyl monsters feature hyper-detailed sculpting and paint and a subject matter that will burrow into your mind and revisit you in your nightmares long after the exhibit has closed. Press images and additional artist information are available upon request from our Press Manager. Both exhibits run November 14th – 30th, with an opening reception on Friday, November 14th from 6 – 9 PM. Some artists will be in attendance.

Joe Scaranogave us a very special treat for Bewitching IV, he let us into his studio with a visual tour through every step of his brilliant Candy Corn Goblin creation. We got to see the development from sketch to finished product over many weeks, and we are excited to share with you!

Follow this amazing visual journey of Joe’s from the original sketch design to sculpt, mold making, and final painting of his Candy Corn Goblins.

You can see them in all their glory when Bewitching IV opens at Stranger Factory on Friday, Oct 10 at 6PM.

For the first time in…well, forever, Brandt Peters and Kathie Olivas will be conducting a portfolio review at DesignerCon with the intention of finding new artists for upcoming Stranger Factory gallery shows.

The portfolio review will take place on Sunday, from 1-2pm.

We’ll have more details soon, but if you’re an up and coming artist and interested in exhibiting at Stranger Factory – put it on your calendar!

If you didn’t see our big Designer Con 2014 announcement, we dropped some major news on this year’s convention. We are beyond elated that Stan Manoukian is coming over from France to grace us all with his presence and skills at the Circus Posterus booth. We really just want to call him Stan the Man!

If you are not familiar with Stan, we are here to help!

Paris, France based Stan Manoukian is an internationally recognized artist/illustrator, seasoned comic book artist, development and story designer for film and commercials, toy designer, has been creating monsters and building fans for years in both Europe and the US.

Very early on, (in 2006) he started “A monster a day” drawing exercise to develop his own creature world and Universe, which has become monumental in scale and documentation. Impassioned by old books, dictionaries, old engraved plates and paintings (discovered through his father passion) Manoukian is inspired to present his creatures within the manners and styling of old encyclopedias – indexing, classifying and properly documenting them for future generations. Similar in nature to a crypto zoologist… Stan is discovering his new universe, carefully representing them in their natural environment, complete with habitat, co-existing species, predators and how they interact with one another.

For more on Stan, you can visit his site here, and see what we currently have available by him here.Now, come to Designer Con to meet Stan this November.